Bad Enough For You
by BeastsAndFallenAngels
Summary: The Lightwood siblings have all secured lead roles in the upcoming school show, written and acted out totally by students. Along with friends Clary and Simon, as well as Magnus Bane and his girlfriend Camille, performing in a show shouldn't be all too stressful and lifechanging, should it? Highschool AU, Malec by the end, some Clace and Sizzy, Five-part story
1. Chapter 1

Alec was nervous. That horrible, butterflies-in-your-stomach, nausea-inducing nervousness specially reserved for exams and interviews and drama auditions. Definitely drama auditions, considering they were the reason Alec was currently pacing the corridor, biting at his fingernails. This was the part he hated the most. At least on stage in front of hundreds of people he could stay in character and not worry about the audience, but in these auditions? Not likely.

"Stop pacing," Jace, Alec's brother, finally sighed, "You're making me feel ill,"

All the boys auditioning had to pair up and read lines from different characters- two boys called Jake and Michael. Alec had his script in his pocket, although he had learnt his lines so thoroughly that he didn't need it. They had to read from two scenes, each acting as Jake and Michael once each. Alec much preferred acting as Michael- he was the good character, if Alec had to simplify it, quiet and considerate, while Jake was loud and bolshy. Jace suited playing Jake much more than Alec did. Jake also had solo songs in the musical, and while Alec knew his voice was okay, he had much more faith in his acting than his singing.

The doors suddenly opened and two boys walked out. One was Magnus Bane- tall, glittery, gorgeous and Alec's long-term crush. They shared a few classes, and Alec had no doubt at all that Magnus would get a part. He was confident, and could dance like it was the most natural thing in the world. Maybe to him it was. Magnus waved to Alec, shooting him a smile, before disappearing round the corner. Alec's butterflies intensified for a completely different reason. It was the perfect distraction though, as Alec found himself being dragged through the doors by Jace.

A row of people sat in the small drama room, mostly students. The play was entirely written by a team of students, who were also going to direct it. It had taken much convincing the staff for it to be allowed, but they'd won. Somehow, this was more intimidating than a panel of teachers. After a few words with the students, Alec and Jace were told to start their first scene. They hadn't been given whole scripts, just the two scenes and the necessary character profiles, so Alec didn't know his character's personality as much as he would have liked. He'd give it his best shot though.

He nodded to Jace, whose line was first, and focussed on making the world just him as Michael, talking to his friend Jake in the school yard.

Call-backs were a week later. Alec had been short-listed for Michael, much to his delight, and Jace was being considered for the lead role of Jake, or for Jake's older brother Alex. Jace claimed he would be happy with either, but Alec knew how much he wanted to take the lead role. Their sister, Isabelle, had also been called back for the lead female role, which Alec found hilarious because it would mean that his siblings would have to act as if they were dating for at least half of the play. Jace may have been adopted into the family, but they were as close as any other siblings.

Being called back meant that Alec was at least going to be in the chorus, which would honestly be enough for him. The school's drama department was kind of elitist, so just getting into the play was a massive achievement. Still, to act in one of the lead roles alongside his siblings would be amazing, especially in his last year of school. Jace and Izzy, a year younger, had another shot next year. Alec didn't.

For the second audition, Alec had a duet with a female character called Emily. Jace's girlfriend Clary had been called back for that role, and they decided to audition together, organising times to rehearse in advance.

The team writing the musical were clearly punk-rock fans. The song Alec and Clary had to sing was 'Still Into You' by Paramore, and gave them an instant advantage because both Alec and Clary already knew all of the words. The only issue then was allowing each other to sing their own parts, rather than just belting out the whole song. Jace's call-back song was a version of 'Nothing To Do With Love' by Halestorm. It was particularly challenging as the vocals had to be adjusted to fit a more masculine voice, but Alec thought that it was a good song for Jace to be singing. Izzy had two audition songs, much to her dismay. One was 'Zombie' by The Pretty Reckless, and the other 'The Best Thing (That Never Happened)' by We Are The In Crowd. They each required completely different vocal techniques, but both relied on a very strong voice. The writers had taken a risk in choosing both songs for the same character, but Alec knew that Izzy could definitely do it.

They walked home together that afternoon, Izzy humming under her breath while Alec and Clary talked about their duet. They weren't required to dance or act while they sang for the audition (Thank God) but Alec knew the dancing would come later. Hopefully much later.

That evening, the Lightwood siblings and Clary crowded into Isabelle's pink and black room. Together, they congratulated Jace who, despite forgetting some of the lyrics, had almost perfected his song. They helped Izzy with a couple of the notes in her slower song, and Alec and Clary gave their rendition of Still Into You, slapping each other when they sang the wrong lines.

Just a week later, Alec was back outside the drama room, substantially calmer. He was already in the chorus, getting this part would just be a bonus. Clary deserved the part though, he'd decided, and so he'd give it his all for both of them.

They came out of the audition smiling and arm in arm. It felt like it had gone well, but even if it hadn't, they'd had fun singing together.

Jace returned from his audition the next week in true Jace style- completely confident in himself. Izzy's didn't seem to go so well, and she seemed to think she'd lost all chance of getting the main role. Alec comforted her with ice cream and movies, and pointed out that until the cast list was announced, she didn't know what they'd thought.

Weeks and weeks later, a big sheet of paper was posted outside of the drama rooms, and news spread fast that the cast list was out. The Lightwoods had to jostle through a group of students to reach it, but they were let through. The 'main cast' were listed at the top, and sure enough, there was Jace's name written next to the character of Jake. Right underneath, Isabelle was listed as the female lead, Aria. After hugging a very excited, and astonished, Isabelle, Alec turned back to the board. And there was his name too, next to the character Michael, along with Clary as Emily, just like they'd auditioned. After their group hug amid many squeals, Alec peered back at the rest of the main cast. Will Herondale was playing as Jace's brother, and a boy called Simon Lewis playing Isabelle's shy love interest. Alec's heart stopped as he read Magnus was playing Gabriel, the play's own bad boy, then dropped to the floor as he realised that the final role was filled by Magnus's girlfriend Camille.

Oh _why_ did she have to be there?

 **Oh why indeed, Alec, why indeed.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Come _on_ , guys," The girl directing today's scenes ran her hands through her hair in stress, "Just one more time, everyone is going to be here for the group scene soon anyway,"

The three girls up on stage- Isabelle, Clary and Camille- sighed and took up their previous positions. Alec felt for them. This morning it had been himself up on the stage going through the same scene with Simon and Magnus over and over again. It didn't help that Magnus was awfully distracting. His hair was down today, and Alec couldn't stop looking at him. It was ridiculous, and despite knowing how ridiculous he was being, all he could think about was how soft it looked.

The doors at the back of the hall banged open, dragging Alec back from thoughts of his fingers in Magnus's hair. Dangerous, Alec, dangerous, he reprimanded himself. The girls coming in now were part of the chorus, ready to start rehearsing the first group scene this afternoon. It would be the first song they were attempting, and Alec had spent last night making sure that he knew all the words. The song was a classic though, 'Girls & Boys' by Good Charlotte, so really 'learning the lyrics' was an excuse for the Lightwood siblings to blast Good Charlotte around the house as they danced in Jace's bedroom. Their little brother Max even joined in.

The scene was set at a party, and involved a dance routine where the chorus girls surrounded a group of popular 'rich-looking' boys. The two girls choreographing the dance routines were endlessly patient with them, especially with the boys like Alec who weren't very experienced. They were all singers, though, all musicians, and so could easily keep to the beat. The key was just moving the right way at the right time. It sounded easier than it actually was.

Two hours later, Alec dropped less than gracefully down to the floor next to Jace. He reached for a water bottle and gulped the cold liquid down, exhausted.

"Shall we call it a day?" The director asked and was met with a chorus of agreement. Everyone just wanted to get home and have some food and some sleep, Alec and his siblings included.

"Hey," Simon appeared above where they were laying, smiling face coming into view, "Did you want to come to Taki's? Clary suggested the main ones went out, get to know each other a bit better," Alec hit Jace before he could make a sarcastic remark, and smiled at Simon.

"Sure," Izzy saved Alec from answering, "I'm up for that," She looked at her siblings, "You guys too?"

All of the main cast piled into Taki's, the closest restaurant to the school. Alec knew for a fact that Jace hated it because his ex-girlfriend was a waitress here, but since Clary had suggested it he seemed all up for it. Alec shook his head in bemusement. They talked about the show as the eight of them filed into a booth. They'd only had their scripts a couple of weeks, so were only now able to talk about the plot and their characters as they ordered milkshakes and cheesy chips.

"I know I only have one song, but it's the best one," Will stated, gesturing wildly with his hands- something that Alec had noticed was a habit for him, "I get to rap, do any of you get to rap? I don't think so. I win,"

"It's not a competition, Will," Clary reprimanded him jokingly.

"And anyway, I definitely have the best songs," Magnus added with a smirk, "I get to sing Cobra Starship and be surrounded by all manner of scantily dressed people," Camille didn't look particularly happy about his comment, but everyone else laughed.

"I get to play guitar on stage," Simon argued, "That's pretty cool,"

"Yeah but you have to kiss Izzy," Jace made a gagging sound, "So you lose,"

"Jace!" Izzy objected over the laughter, "Shut up!"

Alec was glad that he didn't actually have to kiss Clary. Jace glared at him enough when they had to dance together, he'd probably never talk to Alec again if they had to kiss.

The banter between them continued over their milkshakes; stealing each other's chips and firing off harmless insults about the characters they'd be playing. All too often, Alec found himself looking at Magnus, and blushing when they caught eyes. Alec didn't want to notice how Magnus's eyes glinted with mischief as he told another embarrassing tale of Will's drunken escapades. He didn't want to notice how Magnus's long, slim fingers wrapped around his milkshake glass, because it did nothing good for his imagination at all.

Trying to shake all thoughts of Magnus's hands from his head, Alec focussed on his own drink and told himself to get a grip.

A few weeks later they had vocal rehearsals. Once again it was the main cast sat around in the music rooms as music students set up microphones and instruments. The school band were playing the music while the cast sang, and this would be the first time they were rehearsing together. The only member of the cast missing was Camille, as her character had no solo or duet songs, only group vocals. Alec couldn't help but be a little pleased at her absence.

"We're going to focus on the solo pieces this first this morning, if that's okay," One of the directing girls told them, "Then if we have time this afternoon we can run through some of the duets, then Magnus's solo when the chorus arrives" Well, that was Alec's morning wasted then. Unlike his siblings, he only had the one song with Clary.

"Simon, do you want to start with one of your solos?" Simon nodded, looking a little nervous to be going first. He had the most songs though, including three solos, so it made sense to start. They relaxed on the chairs at the back of the room while Simon spoke to the band and picked up a microphone. He, as Alec had predicted, chose to run through his Blink-182 song first. Alec had doubted if Simon could pull the song off, but he clearly (if unsurprisingly) knew all of the words by heart, and by halfway through he was getting into the song and seemed to be enjoying himself.

Alec found himself mouthing the words as Simon sung, enjoying the familiar tune. He noticed Magnus doing the same next to him and grinned.

" _I really wish it was only me and you, I'm jealous of everybody in the room_ ,"

Magnus was looking directly at him and Alec blushed, wishing he wasn't so easily distracted by the other boy.

Simon finished and bowed dramatically as they clapped, then dropped into discussion with the music director.

"You like Blink-182?" A voice at his shoulder asked, and Alec turned to find Magnus looking at him questioningly.

"Naturally," Alec laughed, "They're classic," They easily continued a quiet discussion about music as Simon ran through certain lines again.

The stopped talking as Izzy and Simon swapped places, and Alec relaxed into his chair listening to the familiar sound of his sister's voice.

By the afternoon, Alec was bored.

He was glad when they started running through the duets, because Magnus and Jace were going first, giving him a reasonable excuse to openly check Magnus out. The song they were singing together was 'Good Girls Bad Guys' by Falling In Reverse, and it was heavier (and had dirtier lyrics) than most of the other songs. In fact, Alec was surprised they were allowed to use it, but then again the audience was to be over 16s only, and it was going to make an awesome dance scene. Magnus and Jace, without an ounce of shyness between them, joyfully took turns singing the verses and harmonising for the choruses.

When Alec stood up to run through 'Still Into You' his legs wobbled and almost gave way, weak from being folded under him for so long. Magnus caught his arm with a smirk.

"Careful," He grinned and Alec blushed bright red. Why was he so clumsy?

Singing allowed Alec to ignore Magnus for a few minutes. He and Clary had run through the song so many times by now that it was easy to sing only their own parts, and they could really enjoy it.

Like most rehearsals, the chorus all showed up around mid-afternoon. The girls were needed for backing vocals for Magnus's solo, and Alec could tell it was going to take almost all afternoon to coordinate them. The song was 'Nice Guys Finish Last' by Cobra Starship- Magnus's favourite. As they ran through it first time, the girls missed a couple of their cues, meaning they had to practice again and again. Magnus was word-perfect almost every time, and by around the sixth or seventh run through was posing as he sung, clearly enjoying the attention. It was like he'd practised every move in front of his bedroom mirror, which, Alec considered, maybe he had.

To finish off the rehearsal they ran through their final song. The directors had chosen 'The Past Six Years' by Deaf Havana for them to finish on, with the whole cast singing and taking their bows together. They were playing the alternative version, which Alec preferred, and it was difficult not to sing along without smiling, especially to Alec's favourite lyrics.

" _We're all fools and worthless liars, young and unemployable, lonely, drunk and beautiful_ ,"

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourited/followed the last chapter, you're all wonderful! I'm really enjoying writing this, so let me know what you think!**


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